Blending a mutual love for hip-hop and anime culture that runs deep to his core, Shao Dow has been delivering top-tier nerdy tracks for years. Songs like “Nani,” “Crewdem,” and “Dio Brando” have earned the English musician a global following, as well as the acknowledgment and respect of not just his peers in the musical community but across fandom. It’s a dream come true for Shao Dow, whose personal obsession with Japanese art, entertainment, and video games spurred him onto a lifelong journey that’s led him right back to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Show Dow is now set to represent England in Japan at the Osaka Expo 2025, alongside musical acts from around the rest of the United Kingdom. Ahead of the show, Shao Dow sat down with TVBrittanyF to discuss the preparation for the show, his recent J-Pop stylized track “Cross x Cross,” and what the rest of the year has in store for the artist.
TVBrittanyF: Congrats on the show at Osaka! Not only are you getting to return to Japan for another show, but you’re getting to do so in honor of the UK.
Shao Dow: Yeah, which is wild. They’ve got someone representing Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and then I’m England. It’s just cool. I take it very seriously. I’m gonna go there and perform to the best of my abilities. It’s just dope. It just feels almost like a full circle moment in terms of the amount of work that I put into learning Japanese, studying the culture, and trying to show my respect for this country that’s given me so much.
Now I’m able to go there and represent my country and do the thing that I love and entertain them with it. That’s what I did with the tour last year, and what I’m getting to do now. I’d even said to my wife earlier this year, I wanted to go to Japan again this year. And here I am going to Japan again, and under the coolest of circumstances… My wife and son are coming with me, as well as some of my team. This will be my son’s third time in Japan!
How do you prep for something like this?
It’s funny that you say that, because I’ve only just properly started thinking about this event this week. Prior to this, I had a show in the Netherlands, and then I had an arm operation. I had a show in Manchester. I had a huge amount of other things to do before this, and I like to think about things when they are relevant to think about.
I’m really blessed to have some incredible people who’ve been a part of my team. Kurt, who’s based out in Japan and is my band manager, me and him have been liaising back and forth getting everything sorted. He talks with the band members. He gets the train tickets sorted, all that. That takes a massive amount of work off my plate and off my head, so I can really just think about the performance.
But when it comes to the performance itself? It’s business as usual for me. Every single show that I do, I’m going out there, I’m representing myself, I’m putting everything that I can into making sure it’s an incredible show. None of that changes for this. I am still going to go out there and give them an awesome show.
I’m going to show not only what my music is about, but what music from the UK is about — especially when it’s influenced by Japan. Funnily enough, the performance is the part I’m least worried about. The part I’m most worried about is just making sure that everybody gets where they need to get to at the time they need to get there [Laughter].
What has surprised you the most about this process?
I think it’s surprising to me how much better it is working with a team of people who are all pulling in the right direction. Prior to this, I probably would have tried to arrange it all myself. Just having Kurt alone doing some of the heavy lifting over in Japan has been invaluable. Having a good team of people around you and having people who care about what you’re trying to do, who are willing to help you with that, it makes all the difference. I think that’s been very surprising for me, in terms of just everything else that I’m excited and looking forward to.
I’m just looking forward to, I guess, enjoying the fact that I’m at the stage in my career where I’m getting taken out to countries to represent a nation, and maybe chill out and enjoy that moment for a little bit. I just appreciate the fact that I’m here because of my talent. That is something that I’m still trying to get right in my head, because it’s easy to overthink things or forget or just focus so hard on what you need to do that you don’t remember to just appreciate it. To just appreciate the fact that I would not be in Japan for that showcase if it wasn’t for the fact that I have been chosen to do this — and I’ve been chosen to do this because I’m good at what I do.
That love for Japan is clear in your new song, “Cross x Cross.” How did you approach blending your typical style with an overt riff on J-Pop?
It was a very strange way of mixing it, but I think it works so well. It’s just a fun track. It’s completely different from what I normally do, and that, for me, is what’s important… I wanted to make something that was reminiscent of [artists like Yoasobi] without copying what they’re doing exactly. I wanted to do it in my own style. When I first got the track, initially, I don’t even know what to do with it, to do it justice. There’s so much going on, I just didn’t know.
So I came back to the producer with some notes and feedback, and he stripped it back a little bit, changed parts here and there, and he sent me back a beat. And I thought, actually, this has potential. I remember playing it over and over and over again whilst I was playing Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom. I fell asleep on the couch, and I think I dreamt about playing, and this red light, green light idea came into my head. When I woke up I thought, that’s it. That’s the idea. I ran with the red, light, green light, and cross, cross. I thought, okay, at the very very least, I’ve got some kind of chorus from that. I can build around that.
Does that sort of differing inspiration or style impact how you perform live?
Well, here’s the interesting thing. So for this show, I’m going to be working with my band, the Z-Fighter Super Band, and that already adds a completely different dynamic to the performance. Now you’re performing with a drummer, a guitarist, a bass player, and all of them are world-class musicians.
They’re going to be doing things differently on the track. They’re going to have a good time. They’re going to be riffing, and all of that completely transforms the track into this almost four-dimensional offering. We’ve created something musical that people can really enjoy. Presenting that to an audience is what I’m especially excited about — I performed some of the tracks on the Genki Dama tour, but there will be some tracks that I’ve never performed with the band before. Those will be brand new, and that’s incredibly exciting.
What else can fans look forward to this year?
The next book in the manga series is coming along really well; it’s at the point now where I would expect people to open this book, look at the art, and see how good it is. It’s a visual experience. The artist is so talented, so incredible, and it’s exactly what I want for the book. I’m opening for the Living Tombstone in Manchester in June, and I’m back at the NerdCore Party Con in July in Dallas. For the rest of the year, just more music. I’ve got a new single to record just before I fly out. Working towards an EP, as I always say. There will be a full-length project at some point. I’m also going to be at MCM Comic-Con London. It never stops [Laughter].
Shao Dow’s music can be found on YouTube Music, Apple Music, and beyond. For more information, check out his website at DIYgang.
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